Saturday, October 10, 2009

IT was moist. Super succulent, so tender it almost melted in my mouth. Smooth and velvety. Felt like liquid on my palate. The best steak I’d had in my life.

It was DeBragga, which bills itself as “New York’s Butcher and purveyor to the very best in the restaurant industry.” This is meat from happy cows, and these cows are from Iowa and Nebraska. They lived on a diet of pure grain — no meat products. That’s just how DeBragga (www.debragga.com) rolls with its meat and poultry from around the globe.

All the better for me who could not get enough. I lost count of the number of times that I returned to the trough, only stopping for propriety’s sake. After all, I was not feeding alone.

Earlier this evening, hundreds of New Yorkers put boots on the cobblestoned streets of the Meatpacking District to sip and/or taste the offerings of DeBragga and some 50 other merchants participating in Meatpacking Uncorked (MU), a street festival that is part of the Second Annual Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival. Being a street fair, it also attracted bands, performance artists, caberet acts, tap dancers and other sundry entertainment. Being the 21st century, there was also an interactive lounge.

Remember Florent? Well, Gansevoort 69 (69 Gansevoort) has sprung up in the place of the former Meatpacking District fixture and has been doing business for a few weeks. Florent devotees will probably turn up their noses at the spruced up décor, but the spirit of the old place is still alive in the glass-tiled ceiling with wood beams. The counter stools remain, too, which complement a menu of American comfort food i.e., mac&cheese, meatloaf, burgers/fries, pancakes, chicken/waffles and, butterscotch whiskey cookies, which G69staff generously served to the MU crowd and assorted passersby.

At Trina Turk, next door to Gansevoort 69 at No. 67, the sparkling wine was mundane but the boutique's eponymous citrus-scented candle ($38) was sublime.

Speaking of sparkling wine, the Lunetta Prosecco (www.cavitcollection.com) being poured at Diane von Furstenberg was everything the p.r. claimed: “Refreshing, dry and harmonious, with crisp fruit flavors and a clean finish.”

Took the words right out of my mouth.

Proceeds from the Second Annual Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival will benefit Food Bank For New York City and Share Our Strength, which also serve as the festival hosts. To purchase tickets and for more information about the festival, visit http://www.nycwineandfoodfestival.com. For Food Bank for New York City: foodbanknyc.org; for Share Our Strength: Strength.org.